Chapter Text
I wasn't sure how I felt about New York. As a California boy all my life and now having lived in Florida for over a year, I think I preferred the fairer weather and relaxation of both beach states. Far more laid back than New York. That didn't matter too much for what I was about to do, but the atmosphere was always important on trips, even business trips. Even after being here for two days, I hadn't gotten used to the hustle and the noise of the place.
We had situated ourselves far away from where the conflict was supposed to be, but close enough to command the operation. We being Ellen, Chad and I. We set up a control room in a small apartment building we had rented from the original owner. Everything was going well.
"Is Batroc's first team in position?"
"Yes." Ellen replied.
"What about the extraction team?"
"They are ready as well." Chad confirmed.
"Perfect. Keep watching the target. Once he meets with Banner, then we can surround the building. Don't move in yet, the military is keeping a close eye on Banner, and we don't want to be caught in the same net."
That would be catastrophic. SHIELD still hasn't found out about AIM. While we haven't made any significant movements ever since Columbus, this would be the time they find something. The busiest week in Fury's life was happening now, and since Iron Man had already killed Vanko, it meant Thor was imminent, and the Hulk even more so.
It was a good distraction from us, and so long as we can steal Sterns from under their noses, he will be ruled dead or missing, and I will have his brilliant mind on my side from now on. The only issue now was the waiting game.
"Hey boss, check this out." Chad called my name. He sat in front of the TV with the news channel on.
"What is it?"
"A report from Culver University. Something that might be related to what we are after."
The news station was broadcasting WHiH World News.
"Yesterday around noon on Culver University campus, many shots were fired on a military operation hunting what many called a monster. Some students were able to capture video of the of the battle, and the footage may be shocking."
The camera switched to a slightly grainy image of a large green man covered in muscles, wielding large hunks of metal stolen from the wreckage of military tanks like they were shields. After several seconds of resisting gunfire without issue, the video cut as a helicopter came into view.
"It was crazy, he was big and green. He was like this, this huge hulk." An excited student spoke on camera.
Say that again?
"This gives me a clear timeline. Thanks for letting me know Chad."
"Just this news report tells you when and where he will reappear?" He was skeptical as usual. Maybe he wasn't skeptical, but just reaching for how I gauge my information? It doesn't really matter.
"I have a man inside the most comprehensive intelligence agency on the planet feeding me information as well. Now that this has gone out, I know that the target will be contacted within the day. Actually, he is probably in contact with the military's target either now or within a couple hours."
"I'm not sure how that relates." Chad stated his obliviousness bluntly. Oh Chad, you'll never figure it out, even as a professional skeptic. If you were slightly more schizophrenic, you would probably have deduced my source by now.
"Then just leave it to me, I'll handle that part. For now, tell them to watch Samuel Sterns closely, but don't follow him into any buildings that aren't his lecture hall. We don't want to get trapped while the military might show up."
"Aye aye." Chad said in affirmation with a mocking salute. He had gotten a tiny more rebellious over time. Probably Ellen's corrupting influence.
Speaking of Ellen, she looked completely carefree. Even though I gave her one of the more important tasks, keeping an eye on Ross's forces, she didn't seem to take it very seriously. Or if she was, she kept an impressive poker face.
"Any other movements we should know about?"
"I was just about to tell you before Chad spoke up." She chirped, side-eyeing the other veteran. "It seems several blockades have been set up coming into the city from the south. It's probably for that big green hulk."
Is it just one of those names everyone instinctually assigned in conjunction? There is no chance she had the same thought as that kid on campus. She must have overheard.
"They are looking for the Hulk alright. If blockades and checkpoints are being set up, then we can assume that they already know where he is going and why. As soon as Batroc's team confirms Sterns's position, tell them to pull back for now. They can hide around the rendezvous."
"And Sterns?" Chad sounded uncertain. "Isn't the whole point to extract him? Why would we be waiting for something? I get being cautious, but if the military is after this other guy, why did we wait for this at all?"
"There is a good reason if the boss says there is." Ellen quickly came to my defense. "Have some more faith in him."
"After his chirping the last several weeks, I need to know where we are operating from before he gets into something that hurts him. So tell me, what are we doing here?" Chad pressed on.
Maybe I downplayed the paranoia earlier. He was always slightly more on edge after I got kidnapped, though whereas Ellen came to me directly, I think Chad has only grown more suspicious of any activity I don't fully involve them. I think I am doing a much better job involving them here than before, and I've been trusting them a lot, so I think this outburst is a tiny overreaction.
"We are taking advantage of a lapse in military intelligence." I explained slowly. "Think about this. Samuel Sterns is a genius, and I think AIM can use some more experience with genetic enhancement and alteration. It's always helpful."
"Always." Ellen chimed in.
"And Sterns is on a lot of people's watchlists right now. We couldn't take him in the open so boldly. So, when an accident happens in his lab thanks to a certain green monster that goes to him for help..." I rolled my hands around each other instead of finishing the thought.
Chad let the thought move around his head for a moment. He crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh. "Fine. That makes sense."
"I'm sorry for not involving you in my thought process more. I'm not perfect. Just ask if you have any more doubts."
His eyes flickered back between me and the monitor. "Yeah. Got it boss."
He was much more uncertain about our relationship in the field. Back at base he had no trouble being friendly. Was I just missing context?
"Let me know when Batroc checks in. We need to be ready for a lot of action here tonight."
A period passed where we did nothing but monitor the situation. Monitor the situation? That sounds exactly like high school me. Anyways, there wasn't anything to be done yet. I wanted Sterns to be affected by the Hulk blood, because then he is more than just a mad scientist, but I couldn't exactly justify that to anyone.
The window to grab Sterns before that point had already closed, he was with Banner performing their experiment at this point, so the next event was Blonsky going crazy.
"Brighton." A static but familiar voice came from the radio. It was Batroc, he didn't sound pleased.
"What's the news Pierre?"
"Not good." He didn't comment on my nickname for him but continued anyway. "Worse than expected. Military on every corner. The entire building is surrounded."
"But you have confirmed Sterns to be in his lab?"
"Yes, but is that still the objective? It doesn't seem possible." He grunted in frustration. Me too goat.
"As long as you have confirmed his location, pull back for now. We can wait for the troops to leave. This isn't the only opportunity."
"Understood." He said, then crackled away.
"Are you sure about this?" Chad asked again. "The street cameras aren't promising."
And they weren't. I didn't remember this many vehicles when I watched the movie. It was staggering. And it's not like they are stormtroopers. If they are ordered to shoot me, I'll probably just die. If they see Batroc's mercenaries, they will just die. Then the game would be over, and I would have lost again.
Not acceptable.
"It's ultimately Batroc's call. If he says he can't do it, there isn't a point in sending them in. They'd just be exposing us as well."
"So, we leave here empty handed?" Chad said with almost a slight hint of optimism.
"It's his decision." Ellen defended me again.
"Don't give up yet. We still have time before anything happens."
"How certain are you that something is going to happen? That the Hulk is going to do what he did at Culver here?"
Again with the name.
"Thousand percent certain."
"Okay. If you say so." Chad deferred once more.
Soon after, the military radio transmission Ellen had intercepted began to go haywire.
"Blonsky stand down!"
Is it already time?
We received our answer minutes later as Bruce Banner, who looked like a younger Mark Ruffalo, was wheeled out bound to a dolly of some kind. Meaning that inside the laboratory was Ross's adjutant, the Hulk blood, and Blonsky.
"Brace yourselves everybody." I spoke into the radio. "Shit is about to go down."
Over the cameras, the building visibly quaked. Moments later, something moving too fast for the cameras blurred by. A pale, grayish green color and the silhouette of pure mass. There was only one thing it could be.
"There you are abomination." I breathed out in awe. He was something to behold.
Moments later, the cameras went dark. They had been crushed entirely.
"Fuck." I blurted out before I could catch myself. "We are running dark. Batroc, if you can still hear me, I need visuals. What is happening over there?"
Static noise filled the room. noise filled the room.
"Batroc?"
"He isn't going to pick it up. Too many signals are going at once." Ellen said with a downcast gaze.
Do I risk going outside? No, the way the battle will go, being on the streets is probably the worst option right now.
"Is this a failure then?" Chad spoke up. "I don't think we should draw more attention to ourselves."
"The only attention anyone will give over this incident is the clash of two oversized green balls of muscle. We aren't even worth noticing. We need to regain contact with Batroc and proceed."
"What if Batroc can't do anything from his position? The military is still crawling all over the place."
He brought up a valid point. But they should still withdraw and focus more on the monster attacking General Ross. That would be the first priority, right?
"We still need to get in contact with the mercenaries. If nothing else but to get a status update. Do your best to figure it out Ellen. If you can't make it work, then we must get closer to the university, and that is the last thing I want to do right now."
"Got it." She acknowledged my orders and got to work.
I looked out the window. Smoke was visible against the night sky in the distance, but it wasn't near us yet. I could see the helicopter circling in the air as well. Banner must be getting ready to deploy.
We should be safe.
"Batroc. Are you there?" Ellen clicked the radio on and off.
Still nothing.
"Batroc?" She tried again.
The sounds grew louder.
"Hey boss we should leave. This isn't worth it." Chad had a concerned expression across his face. Again, a valid point. But too much is in play here.
I was about to say something before a deep vibration shook the building. A deep concussive pressure wormed its way through my chest before a louder sound reached my ears. I clamped them instinctively with my hands. The windows rattled and plates fell from the kitchen cabinets.
We all looked between the three of each other at once, then at the windows a second later.
"Okay. I agree." I huffed out. "Let's go. Pack the stuff up now."
The two rushed around the tables and zipped up the more expensive equipment in their proper containers. We all moved as quickly as we could before the next blast arrived. I felt the impact in my teeth as it rattled the entire building, and I could feel the floor shifting beneath me.
I knew the Hulk fight had a lot of collateral damage, but I thought I prepared for it. I underestimated the impact radius by far too much.
"Get to the stairwell." Ellen urged, gritting her teeth through the quaking.
GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCC
This impact was far more dramatic than the last two. This one hit the building we were in. A large shadow loomed above me near the side wall facing the street towards my right. Something hard slammed into me.
-
My ears rang. It was far too quiet.
I opened my eyes. I was sitting on the floor of the apartment. It was crooked and uneven. Cracks and drywall rubble were scattered across the floor. Ellen ran up to me.
Her mouth was moving, but there were no words coming out. Something faint maybe?
Chad came into my field of vision as well. He looked pale.
That's a lot of blood on the ground. Ellen needs to stop using herself as my shield before she dies of blood loss. I have to stand up before anything else happens. The Abomination could be around the corner.
I must have taken some hit to the head. It's impossible to feel this dizzy without something like that happening.
Ah. My right leg is a little twisted. No wonder it's so hard to stand. I need to balance myself with my arm. Oh. Is that my arm? The one that is split into two down the middle?
Oh.
-
Georges Batroc could be described in two different ways. A professional for his clients. A battle junkie for his peers. He was a good leader, but the most memorable part of Batroc the Leaper was his fighting style and skill. He was highly wanted for a number of reasons after all.
Even though one of the things he prided himself on was his professionalism and his efficiency on jobs, ever since he took Luke Brighton's deal, things have gotten only stranger for him. It was making him rethink his contractual obligation only a tiny bit. The pay was too good to just back off.
Batroc watched in a mixture of confusion, awe, and glee at the sight before him in Harlem, New York. The street was burning, cars were smashed into pieces, and buildings were playground sets. All of this was happening as two demons fought each other in the street like brutes.
He hadn't ever imagined something this ridiculous in his life before now. The thought excited him.
"We can't contact Brighton, sir. What do we do?" One of Batroc's men asked.
"What does the university look like?" Georges responded with a question of his own.
"Still infested with Americans. There is no way in."
Inutile.
"If the fight comes back this way, we leave." Batroc decided.
He wasn't reckless enough to risk being an unintentional casualty of a fight between two monsters completed unrelated to the mission. Military wasn't the problem; they could handle that if it came down to it.
"Batroc!" He felt the vibration at his hip and the scratchy voice coming from the radio. "Batroc it's Brandt! Brighton is hurt. If you can get to us, we need help. If you can't, get out immediately!"
Merde.
"Change of plans." He grimaced to his men. "We need to leave immediately. Prepare to leave at once."
He pulled the radio up to his mouth. "We can't make it to your location. The fight is happening right there. Too many people. Sorry."
He didn't wait to hear Ellen's response before putting his radio away. While Brighton is his employer and needs to live, his own life took more importance.
How unfortunate. Do make it out of this alive, Luke Brighton.
Batroc and his men left Harlem without leaving a single trace.
-
"Fuck, he's completely fucked!" Ellen practically screamed.
Ellen Brandt was used to seeing blood. She served in the military, and she had her own arm mangled and amputated after a torniquet had to be applied. It wasn't an unfamiliar sight, but...
This was really a lot of blood.
Luke's arm was hanging on by threads. It looked as if it had been hit by a shotgun shell. It was entirely covered in gore, painted red with holes, split in half and oozing blood. His leg was in no better situation. The bone was bent in several places, poking out of the skin in three different ways. The ankle was completely flattened like a pancake.
By what must have been a miracle, only his right leg and right arm were hit at all. Even still, it wasn't a consolation to Ellen or Chad. Not in the slightest.
"We need to put on a tourniquet on his arm at the very least." Chad said immediately, rushing to the supply closet in the apartment. He returned with a first aid kit moments later.
"That isn't going to help at all! His arm is almost off already! Put it on his leg. It isn't nearly as bloody as the arm, but it is still bleeding too much." Ellen panicked.
She knew what she had to do in order to save Luke, but the cost of it was putting his future in danger.
"Then what do we even do about his arm? There is barely any blood left in it at all!" Chad twitched as it spurted on him.
"We have to sear the wound shut." Ellen swallowed loudly.
"Are you insane? That might kill him!"
"He's going to fucking die if we don't do anything!" Ellen felt her arm begin to burn with the warming sensation of Extremis.
She put her hand on his chest as a stabilizer and aligned her smoldering hand to Luke's bicep just below his shoulder.
"This is going to hurt. If you can hear me, I'm so, so sorry." A small bit of water welled up in her eyes.
She brought her hand up in an arc and then swiftly brought it down.
Ssssiiiiiiizzzzz
The arm dropped to the ground with a light thud. The sizzling sound of the cauterized wound left as fast as it arrived. Luke didn't react at all. Couldn't, rather.
"Help me apply this! We can deal with the arm later." Chad wrapped the bandages tight around Luke's thigh.
"Turn the pen around as many times as it takes to tie it off." He guided Ellen through the motions.
"I know how to wrap a tourniquet!" She yelled back.
"Then do it!"
She grinded her teeth tightly before she finished tying it off. She wrote the time sloppily in sharpie marker on the sleeve.
"That probably won't matter." Chad grunted.
"We can still hope!"
"Then call Doctor Killian. We need to get Luke to a doctor as soon as possible, and we are sitting ducks here without Batroc."
"I know!" She screamed before dialing Killian.
It rang only once before Killian picked up.
"Hello Ellen, what is—"
"Luke is dying! We need to go to the hospital now! Are you still in New York? Please tell me!"
"Luke is dying?! What happened?" His tone fell instantly into panic.
"A wall collapsed on us. His arm is gone and his leg is as good as gone. We are going to try and transport him—"
"Don't move! I'm on my way."
"No! We can't stay here! There is a war happening right outside our building! We are coming to you! I'm sending you a location we will meet at, and you will pick us up. Got it?" Ellen shouted into the phone. Killian stayed quiet for once.
"I understand. Be careful." With that, he hung up.
"Ellen." Chad choked on the name. "Luke may die tonight. Do you get that?"
Ellen's vision blurred and her ears rang. His voice felt so distant. She stared at Luke on the floor, half dead already.
I won't allow it. You can't die. I'm not allowed to fail again.
"Let's go." She held back the tears that threatened to fall from her face. "We don't have much time."
They did their best to carry Luke all the way to safety.
-